Hey there, lovers of new work... have we got a treat for you! The awesome artists involved in Night of New Works have been busy collaborating and experimenting over the past few weeks to get ready for the final presentations... and we're almost there!

Join us next week to see what's been cooking, and lend your voice to the new work process!

* Please join us for an opening reception on Monday, May 22 at 6:00 PM to celebrate the artists and their work!

As we're head into the final crunch time, we asked the project leaders to give us a little glimpse into their processes. Here's what they had to say:

A SQUID HAS THREE HEARTS

A Squid Has Three Heartsexplores environmental, personal, and political themes around the mystery of the Giant Squid, as well as the growth in squid populations that has occurred because of the rise of temperature in the oceans waters. Biology, mythology, and music act as connective tissue for a series of vignettes about the human experience.​Created by Mark Sweeney, with Amber Davis, Keith Hovis, Elana Gravitz, Anna Pladson, Claire Morrison

What are the main themes?Environmental anxiety; the ambivalence of cultural cross streams; the purpose of lore and mythology in a scientific world; lots of the knowns and unknowns about the giant squid; the moment a myth, thought, or theory becomes reality.

What has the creation process been like?The process has been a series of broad strokes and snap shots. There have been attempts to bring the sensation of submersion onto the dry stage, and other attempts to dig into our personal connection to a crumbling world. The ensemble has carried the main themes to comedic and terrifying places. So, as the pieces are floating around, the monster has yet to be assembled. Oh, also, there's a bit of music.

If A Squid Has Three Hearts was a cocktail or beverage, what would it be?Two shots of lemon grass, a splash of Coke, some sailor's rum. Garnish with squid tentacle.

WE HAD A SECOND BATHROOM

In We Had A Second Bathroom, Lea returns to her childhood home for the first time in over a decade, where she finds the long forgotten second bathroom that her mother moved a cabinet in front of when she was six. Rediscovering the second bathroom leads Lea to think about the existence of the alternate reality she and her family had lived in for years— a reality in which they had only one bathroom. The unraveling of this reality leads Lea down a rabbit hole of memories that force her to confront the construction of not only her past, but her present reality.

What are the main themes?Deception, anxiety, play, imagination, love and loss and nostalgia. All of the things we believed in as kids, and all of the things we believe in as grown-ups.

What has the creation process been like?We've been reflecting a lot on our childhood memories—we taught each other imagination games we played as kids, and then invented our own improvised world of play. There was action and adventure, forces of darkness and moments of triumph, and even a procession. This is Jordan's first time directing live theater (he comes from directing film and dance) and Eva's first time writing a play through collaborative content-generation, so it's been a little meandering—but all the more fruitful.

If We Had A Second Bathroom was a cocktail or beverage, what would it be?On your first sip, it's light and sweet and somehow nostalgic—maybe it reminds you of summers in your hometown, sucking the juice out of watermelon chunks and pulling dandelions out of the ground one by one. But by the time you find the last drop, you'll realize you're on the floor and the room is spinning around you. Oh, and it's garnished with a gargoyle named the Gorlox.

DR. FALSTAFF AND THE WORKING WIVES OF LAKE COUNTY

Using Otto Nicolai’s 1849 opera--The Merry Wives of Windsor—as a springboard, Dr. Falstaff and the Working Wives of Lake County explores the closing of the Reserve Mining Corporation in Silver Bay, the landmark legal battles to stop the dumping of waste rock in Lake Superior, and the layoffs that reduced population of Silver Bay more than 70% in two decades. In the tradition of a Shakespeare wedding comedy, a series of mistaken identities leads to a happy ending wherein new seeds are planted to celebrate and renew a town on an economic precipice.

What are the main themes?Work, community, small American towns, industry, environment, sex, romance, pranks, jealousy, crooked lecherous men, and scheming wives

What has the creation process been like?We briefly looked the science of the industrial steal industry and the creation of taconite pellets. Our scene work examines the stakes for the people of a town facing transition and bleak possibilities. The character of Dr. Falstaff represents the crooked agenda of outsiders who monopolize on people in desperate situations, and have a misplaced sexual confidence. Our improvisations were rooted in the comedic and sexual antics of Shakespeare's play. Rehearsals also included the integration of music by Bruce Springsteen. This fits the late 70s working-class rock and roll vibe of the North Shore of Lake Superior and Otto Nicolai. We reset the German text in language the fits the characters and the Minnesota world of the play.

If Dr. Falstaff and the Working Wives of Lake County was a cocktail or beverage, what would it be?Beer and a Bump (likely PBR and whiskey) and a bowl of pretzels.